UM holds doctor honoris causa lecture on contemporary literature

Jia Pingwa, the renowned writer
and the new honorary doctor of the University of Macau (UM), gave a Doctor honoris causa Lecture, titled
‘Contemporary Literary Writing in Chinese’, in the Anthony Lau Building at UM.
The lecture attracted a full-house audience composed of UM faculty, students,
and members of the public. Even the aisles were packed with people.

In his speech before the lecture,
Rector Zhao said that Chinese literature is one of the key disciplines at UM,
as every world-class university should have a world-class academic programme
focused on the native language of the country in which the university is
located. In recent years, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature has
made considerable progress with the support of various parties. The department
now boasts a faculty team of renowned experts and scholars. Earlier, it signed
a collaboration agreement with its counterparts at Taiwan University, Peking
University, and the University of Hong Kong, on jointly establishing an
international academic platform. These achievements are closely related to the
team of honorary doctors composed of such literary masters as Wang Meng, Mo
Yan, Yu Kwang Chung, Jin Yong, and Pai Hsien-yung. The addition of Dr Jia will
further increase the influence of the team and benefit the future development
of Chinese discipline at UM.

At the lecture, Jia shared his
insights on the current development and future of contemporary Chinese
literature in his unique Shaanxi dialect. He believes that writers should think
independently in an age fraught with big changes, because a writer without modern,
independent thinking would have difficulty gaining a foothold or creating works
that deserve a place in the readers’ bookshelf or history. He also thinks that
writers need to look at society with fresh eyes against the new backdrop of a
fast-developing world. ‘My heart aches for the rapidly declining countryside.
Should I sing a eulogy or an elegy? I am not sure,’ he bemoaned.

Prof Zhu Shoutong, head of the
Department of Chinese Language and Literature, chaired the Q&A session. The
audience was very enthusiastic and asked many questions in Shaanxi dialect,
Cantonese, and Mandarin. Dr Jia patiently answered every question from the
audience. Rector Wei Zhao also participated in the Q&A session, which was
punctuated by laughter and applause. In concluding the Q&A session, Prof
Zhu highly praised Jia’s talk, saying that Jia accurately presented the dilemma
between literature and time, as well as the dilemma between writers and
reality, quoting a line from Li Sao by
Qu Yuan, ‘This is his blood, his tears, his book of confessions.’

The Department of Chinese Language and Literature will
hold a seminar on Jia Pingwa’s works on Thursday 21 March, in Room G010,
Faculty of Business Administration (E22). The seminar is co-organised by the
Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the Macau Association of
Literary and Artistic Critics, UM’s Research Centre for Humanities in South
China, and a celebrity forum organised by the Department of Chinese Language
and Literature. It will begin at 9:30am. All are welcome.